Biography
Charlie Hunnam is an English television and movie actor. He is best known for playing Jackson “Jax” Teller, the main character in the FX crime series Sons of Anarchy. He was the lead actor in the films King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, The Lost City of Z, Nicholas Nickleby, and Papillon.
About
Charles Matthew Hunnam was born on April 10, 1980, in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. His father was William “Billy” Hunnam, a scrap dealer and criminal. His mother is Jane Bell, a business owner and former ballet dancer. He has an older brother named William Hunnam. His father abandoned the family when Charlie was just two years old. His mother remarried when he was 12 and had two more sons, named Christian and Oliver.
Hunnam attended the Heaton Manor School in Newcastle upon Tyne. He then enrolled at the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Penrith, Cumbria. He was expelled for fighting with his classmates and playing rugby in the hallways. He had to finish secondary school by studying at home and only taking exams at school. He enrolled at the Cumbria College of Art and Design, graduating with a degree in performing arts and film history.
TV career
At the age of 17, Hunnam was doing some Christmas shopping at JD Sports. A TV production manager spotted him and approached him. He gave him the role of Jason Chuckle on the Newcastle-based teenage TV series Byker Grove.
Hunnam appeared on a total of three episodes of the series. He then tried modelling, appearing in a campaign for Kangols Caps. In 1999, he appeared on an episode of My Wonderful Life. That same year, he got his first major part in the series Queer as Folk. He played the role of Nathan Maloney, a 15-year-old gay schoolboy. He also appeared in an episode of the children’s sitcom Microsoap. In 2000, he appeared in three episodes of the American TV drama Young Americans. In 2001 and 2002, he played an English drama student in the FOX sitcom Undeclared.
In 2008, Hunnam got the main role in the American crime tragedy TV series Sons of Anarchy. The story depicted a gang of motorcyclists in Charming, a fictional Californian town. It explored topics such as brotherhood, betrayal, loyalty, redemption, racism, and political corruption. Hunnam played the role of Jackson “Jax” Teller, the president of the motorcycle club. The series became the most popular show on the FX network. It had six seasons, with the final episode premiering in December 2014.
Movie career
In 1999, Hunnam had a small role in the film Whatever Happened to Harold Smith. In 2002, he starred in the American psychological thriller drama Abandon. That same year, he took the leading role in the British-American drama film Nicholas Nickleby. The film was an adaptation of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Charles Dickens’ third novel. In 2003, he had a small role in the epic war film Cold Mountain. He starred opposite the actors Jude Law, Renee Zellweger, and Nicole Kidman.
In 2005, he took one of the leading roles in the British-American independent drama film Green Street. The story depicted several football hooligans in the United Kingdom. Many critics gave bad reviews to Hunnam for his failed attempt at impersonating a Cockney accent in the film. The following year, he starred in the science-fiction dystopian thriller Children of Men.
In 2011, Hunnam appeared in the thriller drama film The Ledge. In 2012, he played the lead character, Frankie, in the comedy film 3, 2, 1... Frankie Go Boom. That same year, he played an ex-boxer named Jay in the crime drama film Deadfall. In 2013, he appeared in the sci-fi film Pacific Rim. That same year, it was announced that he would play the leading role of Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey, the film adaptation of E. L. James’ novel.
About a month after the announcement, he left the film because the filming schedule conflicted with the filming of Sons of Anarchy. In 2015, he appeared in Guillermo del Toro’s horror film Crimson Peak. He starred opposite the actors Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain. In 2016, he took the leading role in the biographical adventure drama film The Lost City of Z. He played the role of Percy Fawcett, a British explorer who was on a quest to find the ancient city of Z in the Amazon in Brazil.
In 2017, Hunnam took the leading role of King Arthur in Guy Ritchie’s epic fantasy film King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. That same year, the took the leading role in the biographical drama film Papillon. He starred as Henri Charriere, a French prisoner who escaped from the Devil’s Island penal colony. In 2018, he starred in Sam Taylor Johnson’s drama film A Million Little Pieces. He then starred opposite Ben Affleck and Oscar Isaac in the action film Triple Frontier.
In 2019, he is set to appear in the upcoming British-Australian biographical western film True History of the Kelly Gang. He is also set to appear in the upcoming American drama film Jungleland. In 2020, he will star in Guy Ritchie’s comedy film The Gentlemen. He is set to take the leading role in the British-American action film Waldo. The release date of Waldo has not yet been announced.
Awards
In 2002, Hunnam and the cast of Nicholas Nickleby won the National Board of Review Best Acting by an Ensemble Award. In 2013, he won the Chinese Huading Award for Best Global Emerging Actor for his role in Pacific Rim. In 2017, he earned a nomination for an International Online Cinema Award for Best Actor for his role in The Lost City of Z.
That same year, he won a CinemaCon Award for Best Male Actor for his role in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Hunnam received many nominations for his role in Sons of Anarchy. They included a Critics’ Choice Television Award, a People’s Choice Award, a Satellite Award, an Entertainment Weekly Award, and an award from the Pan-American Association of Film & Television Journalists.
Who is Charlie Hunnam dating?
During an audition in 1999, Hunnam met the actress Katharine Towne. They got married in Las Vegas just three weeks after they started dating. They got a divorce in 2002. Hunnam also dated the film producer Georgina Townsley, the model Sophie Dahl, and the actress Stella Parker. Since 2005, he has been in a long-term relationship with Morgana McNelis, a fashion designer and artist.
How much is Charlie Hunnam worth?
Charlie Hunnam’s net worth is around $16 million.
